Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the annual cost to her Department of preparing ministers to respond to Westminster Hall Debates.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

It is not possible to provide an exact cost for preparing Ministers to respond to Westminster Hall Debates. There will be differences in the costs of Civil Service, Special Adviser and Ministerial time depending on the policy matter and length of the debate. Debates can also be cross-cutting and require resources from multiple departments or engage departmental bodies.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of implementing the Child Poverty Strategy over the next ten years.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Child Poverty Strategy represents a long-term, cross-government approach to tackling the root causes of child poverty. The strategy’s successful implementation depends on co-ordinated action across a range of services. It sets out both the immediate action the Government is taking to support families and the longer-term action needed to address the structural drivers of poverty. It includes focus on boosting families' incomes through employment and the social security system, driving down the cost of essentials, and strengthening local support to ensure families can access vital services when they need them.

The commitments in the strategy will lead to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began. This includes the removal of the two child limit which will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures set out in our strategy, such as the expansion of Free School Meals.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department's joint press release entitled UK life sciences attracts £3bn investment, creating jobs and faster patient treatments, published on 9 July 2026, what assessment he has made of the contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises to investment secured under the Life Sciences Sector Plan.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not done a specific assessment of investment secured from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Life Sciences Sector Plan does however support SMEs through a suite of targeted interventions. The Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund remains open and its pipeline includes companies of varying sizes. The Scale-Up Support Service directly supports 10-20 high-potential companies and is open to companies of all sizes. We also offer dedicated export assistance to SMEs. UKRI and NIHR are set to substantially enhance their offerings for BioTech and MedTech SMEs and the British Business Bank continues to invest in life sciences SMEs.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the risks associated with unofficial auditors accessing the open prison estate.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Any person who films, photographs, or transmits images from within a prison for reception outside the prison commits an offence under section 40D(1) of the Prisons Act 1952. A person convicted of an offence under section 40D(1) may, on conviction on indictment, be sentenced to a maximum term of two years' imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both.

His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has issued a number of communications to governors and staff highlighting the risks associated with filming near prisons, and providing guidance on operational practice, police engagement, and staff safety. Where footage has been posted online, HMPPS has sought its removal from the relevant social media platform.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will assess the potential merits of increasing tax free bounty payments to members of the reserve forces.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

This Government recognises that Reserves are at the heart of Defence.

Last month, this Government increased the bounty payments by 3.6% on 1 April 2026, following the Armed Forces Pay Review Body recommendations.

This increased the annual tax free bounty to £526 for their first year of service up to £2,308 for their fifth year of service and beyond, showing our commitment to our Reservists who commit their time to Defence.

Increasing the tax-free bounty payments for members of the Reserve Forces offers a direct financial incentive to improve recruitment, boost operational readiness, and maximise retention within defence.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the outcomes of the Royal Navy's recent trial involving the airdrop of an uncrewed surface vessel from an A400M aircraft.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The recent trial was successful demonstration of a novel deployment method for uncrewed surface vessels, demonstrating the potential for rapid deployment of autonomous maritime capabilities in contested or hard-to-access environments. Further information about the trial can be found at the following website:

https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/2026/july/08/20260708-uncrewed-vessels-airdropped-in-pioneering-trial-supported-by-royal-navy

No date has yet been set for the achievement of Initial Operating Capability for the deployment of uncrewed surface vessels from A400M aircraft. The capability remains subject to further testing and assessment.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the date by which the capability to deploy uncrewed surface vessels from A400M aircraft will reach Initial Operating Capability.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The recent trial was successful demonstration of a novel deployment method for uncrewed surface vessels, demonstrating the potential for rapid deployment of autonomous maritime capabilities in contested or hard-to-access environments. Further information about the trial can be found at the following website:

https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/2026/july/08/20260708-uncrewed-vessels-airdropped-in-pioneering-trial-supported-by-royal-navy

No date has yet been set for the achievement of Initial Operating Capability for the deployment of uncrewed surface vessels from A400M aircraft. The capability remains subject to further testing and assessment.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications of the Typhoon upgrade programme for the transition to the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP).

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

As well as ensuring Typhoon remains a credible and robust combat air capability over the coming decades able to operate alongside F35 and GCAP, the Typhoon upgrade programme set out in the Defence Investment Plan (including Long Term Evolution) helps generate and sustain people, skills and technology across the UK Enterprise to be transferred to the benefit of GCAP.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the economic impact of the Defence Investment Plan by region.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Defence Investment Plan sets out how the Government's increased investment in defence capability, infrastructure and innovation will strengthen national security while supporting economic growth across the UK.

While the Defence Investment Plan was not designed to provide a regional breakdown of economic impacts, the substantial investments it outlines, together with Defence’s extensive footprint across the UK, supports jobs, industry and economic growth in every nation and region. By 2029-30, defence investment is expected to support up to 60,000 additional jobs across the United Kingdom.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how the upgraded Typhoon fleet will operate alongside the F-35 Lightning fleet; and what capabilities are expected to be delivered through integration with Collaborative Combat Aircraft.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The upgraded Typhoon fleet will operate alongside the F-35 Lightning as complementary elements of the UK’s combat air force. The Typhoon Long Term Evolution (LTE) programme ensures Typhoon Force remains operationally relevant into the 2040s and can continue to meet the UK's air defence and combat air requirements.

The Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme will augment and enhance the effects of crewed aircraft across a range of air power roles with an initial focus on combat air. We expect CCA capability and capacity to increase over time to ensure that it can operate and integrate continuously with the combat air force.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs supported by the Typhoon upgrade programme in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) Scotland, (c) Lancashire and (d) the wider UK defence supply chain.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

In January 2026 the department announced that it had committed over £650 million to upgrade the RAF’s Typhoon fighter jet fleet, securing over 1,500 jobs across the UK. This includes around 300 skilled roles in Edinburgh and secures 120 jobs in Lancashire.

The full Typhoon programme supports more than 20,000 jobs across 330 UK companies.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether all RAF Tranche 2 and Tranche 3 Typhoon aircraft are expected to receive the full package of capability upgrades announced in the Defence Investment Plan.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Both Tranches of UK Typhoon are being upgraded, and there is no change to the previously stated intention. 40 Tranche 3 aircraft will receive the new radar, ECRS2, and the fleet of both Tranche 2 and 3 aircraft will receive the upgrades to communications and avionics, cockpit interface, and helmet mounted sighting system.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many RAF Typhoon aircraft are planned to receive European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk2 radars under the Defence Investment Plan; and what the planned delivery timetable is for those radars.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

40 RAF Typhoon aircraft will receive the European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk2 upgrade. We expect the radar in service with the RAF before the end of the decade.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding has been allocated to the new Teacher Training Entitlement in each financial year of this Parliament.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The Schools White Paper set out our plans for a teacher training entitlement, to ensure that every teacher and leader can access high-quality professional development opportunities. It will do this through a focus on four strategic priorities for professional development:

• Strengthening the existing national offer of professional development.
• Extending the national offer so there is training at every stage, starting with new courses on special educational needs and disabilities and inclusion, and on reception teaching.
• Ensuring that development opportunities are clear and accessible to all teachers and leaders, including working through teaching school hubs and regional improvement for standards and excellence.
• Supporting strong development cultures in schools and trusts, including work underway with the National Institute of Teaching on their recently launched continuing professional development (CPD) evidence portal and developing a promising Teacher Education Dataset to help understand what makes teaching impactful.

For the 2026/27 financial year, the department has allocated £4.078 million of new funding to develop new courses for classroom teachers and experienced leaders on the topics of reception teaching and supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. This comes as part of a wider £200 million commitment into 0-25 SEND and inclusion training across multiple financial years.

We have also allocated £158.625 million of funding to continue and improve delivery of the Early Career Teacher Programme, National Professional Qualifications, Teaching School Hubs, and National Institute of Teaching’s CPD best practice function. Funding allocations for 2027/28 are subject to business planning processes and allocations for 2028/29 are subject to a future spending review.

To support SEND Reform more broadly, we will be investing £4 billion more over three years, including £1.8 billion so every community has experts on hand, and £1.6 billion going directly to settings for early intervention. This is alongside an additional capital investment of £3.7 billion between 2025 and 2030 to create 60,000 specialist places.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance he has issued to local authorities on their enforcement responsibilities under the Housing Act 2004 in respect of Houses in Multiple Occupation used to house asylum seekers by the Home Office or its contractors.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My Department has published no such guidance.

I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 75141 on 16 September 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2026 to Question 10293 on Housing Associations: Tenants, how the consultation will be advertised to prospective consultees.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My Department will announce details of the consultation, including how prospective consultees can contribute, in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2026 to Question 10293 on Housing Associations: Tenants, when he plans for the consultation to close.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My Department will announce details of the consultation, including how prospective consultees can contribute, in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure consistency between local authorities in the application of financial penalties for landlords found to have serious hazards in their rented properties.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

A new financial penalty of up to £7,000 for a failure to take reasonably practicable steps to remove a category 1 hazard came into force on 22 June.

Statutory guidance on new financial penalties is included within revised Housing Health and Safety Rating System Enforcement Guidance published on 23 June which can be found on gov.uk here. This statutory guidance seeks to provide a clearer, more transparent and more consistent framework for setting civil penalties across England.

This statutory guidance adopts the same approach to penalty setting as the statutory guidance published in November 2025 on penalties under the Renters’ Rights Act and other housing legislation which can be found on gov.uk here.

I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 2020 on 27 May 2026.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the capacity of local authority environmental health teams to enforce the new financial penalties on landlords who do not repair Category 1 hazards.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

A new financial penalty of up to £7,000 for a failure to take reasonably practicable steps to remove a category 1 hazard came into force on 22 June.

Statutory guidance on new financial penalties is included within revised Housing Health and Safety Rating System Enforcement Guidance published on 23 June which can be found on gov.uk here. This statutory guidance seeks to provide a clearer, more transparent and more consistent framework for setting civil penalties across England.

This statutory guidance adopts the same approach to penalty setting as the statutory guidance published in November 2025 on penalties under the Renters’ Rights Act and other housing legislation which can be found on gov.uk here.

I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 2020 on 27 May 2026.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many Community Infrastructure Levy cases involving household developers have resulted in (a) charging orders, (b) insolvency proceedings, (c) orders for sale and (d) criminal proceedings since 2014.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government does not collect the information sought from individual CIL charging authorities.

I refer the hon. Member to the related correspondence of 25 June 2026 to leaders and Chief Executives of all CIL charging authorities in England, which can be found on gov.uk here.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the impact of the revised Housing Health and Safety Rating System on (a) inspection times and (b) enforcement outcomes.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

On 23 June 2026, my Department laid new statutory guidance on the operation and enforcement of the revised Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). It can be found on gov.uk here.

We will monitor the implementation of the revised HHSRS and seek feedback from the sector as it embeds.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many households have been denied a Community Infrastructure Levy exemption as a result of procedural errors since the exemption was introduced in 2014.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government does not collect the information sought from individual CIL charging authorities.

I refer the hon. Member to the related correspondence of 25 June 2026 to leaders and Chief Executives of all CIL charging authorities in England, which can be found on gov.uk here.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to written statement HCWS171 published on 1 July 2026, how the additional £700 million for schools in 2026–27 will be allocated between local authorities.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department is providing schools with £700 million in additional funding in the 2026/27 financial year to support them with overall costs, including the costs of the 3.5% schools teacher pay award and the local government services pay offer in respect of support staff in the 2026/27 financial year.

In the 2026/27 financial year, mainstream schools and special and alternative provision settings will receive additional funding through the Schools Budget Support Grant 2026, which will mirror the design and distribution of previous pay grants. Funding for eligible early years settings will be distributed through the Early Years Teacher Pay Grant 2026. Funding for 16 to 19 schools will be distributed via 16 to 19 allocations to support post-16 provision in schools and academies.

Further information for schools on the methodology, conditions of grant and rates, as well as a calculator tool has been published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-budget-support-grant-2026-sbsg-26.

Allocations will be published in October.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, from which (a) organisations and (b) representative groups has the Timms Review received representations.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

The Timms Review steering group published its interim report on 9 July, providing an update on its work to date, including a summary of the Call for Evidence, which received over 38,000 responses.

The steering uses a mix of approaches combining lived experience, expert insight, existing research, new quantitative data, and workshops both to gather insight and shape recommendations. The group has engaged with many organisations across the UK supporting a wide range of people, including disabled people’s organisations, charities, and other experts. Findings from this engagement will build a strong evidence base to inform policy analysis and the Review’s recommendations.

The steering group is now moving into the next phase of its work developing its recommendations. These recommendations will be published in a final report to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in the autumn.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many Expressions of Interest were received for the UK Town of Culture 2028 competition, broken down by (a) nation of the UK, (b) English region and (c) local authority area.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS received 398 Expression of Interests representing over 400 places from across the UK. I am delighted that so many towns wanted to celebrate their contribution to our national story and to use culture and creativity to tell their story and why they are proud of their community.

A breakdown by nation of the UK, English region and local authority area is set out below. Please note that the listed local authorities may not be the principal bidding partners; this list illustrates the geographical distribution of Expressions of Interest across local authority areas.

Annex a - Town of Culture EOI by nation of the UK and region of England

Annex b - Town of Culture EOI by Local Authority Area

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many inspections have been undertaken in the Fylde constituency under Ofsted's renewed inspection framework since its introduction.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for Fylde directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's document entitled Inclusive education estates, published on 25 June 2026, whether the guidance is mandatory for schools, early years settings and post-16 providers.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

We know that the physical environment of education settings can have a significant positive impact on the wellbeing and engagement of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This is why we have published dedicated guidance on inclusive education estates, to support local authorities, responsible bodies and mainstream settings in identifying the most affordable, high-impact adaptations for their context, based on pupils’ needs and the opportunities within the estate.

This is non-statutory guidance, but reflects the government's commitment to improving the inclusivity and accessibility of the education estates and is supported by £3.7 billion in high needs capital funding between 2025/26 and 2029/30. Alongside expanding access to inclusion bases and special schools, local areas can use this funding to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of mainstream settings for pupils with SEND.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the delay in publishing Key Stage 2 SATs results on primary schools in Fylde constituency.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Pearson Education Limited has apologised for failing to return the 2026 key stage 2 SATs results on time, and for the impact on schools, pupils and parents. Schools rightly expect results to be delivered on time, and the department recognises the frustration this delay has caused to schools across England. A thorough review will be conducted into how such a serious failing could have occurred.